Chapter 68

Chapter 68: Facing a Kage-level Opponent!

"Cough, cough!"

A coughing sound emerged from the dust and smoke.

"Even the hero of the Sand Village resorts to sneak attacks."

Uchiha Takashi struggled to stand up, discreetly drinking a vial of healing potion in the process.

At this moment, he felt fortunate.

His clothes were made of heat-resistant material; otherwise, they would have turned into a "battle-damaged version" by now.

In the real ninja world, battles that destroy everything wouldn't leave clothing unscathed.

"How dare you insult Lady Pakura!"

"Kill him!"

"Attack!"

...

Several squads of Sand Ninja were surprised that Uchiha Takashi managed to escape Pakura's Scorch Release, but they couldn't tolerate him insulting their idol and were all eager to make a move.

However, they were stopped.

"We're ninjas; what's wrong with a sneak attack? Besides, kid, you're hiding too much!"

Pakura wasn't angry about it.

Hearing her rebuttal, Uchiha Takashi felt a sense of "she makes a good point, and I have no retort."

Because ninjas aren't samurai, sneak attacks are considered "smart."

Wait!

Uchiha Takashi suddenly realized a problem.

Since they're ninjas, why would the opponent engage in a proper conversation, giving him a chance to heal his injuries?

Whoosh! Intense flames surged from his hands, allowing him to enter the Flame Cloak state again. He then spun and leaped with arms wide open (eyes closed).

The flames on his body were guided by his hands, intertwining into a fiery dance.

Golden Crow Fluid Technique: Demon Burn!

The original effect was somewhat weak, so Uchiha Takashi improved it by referencing the Hyuga clan's "Rotation," using movements to rapidly spin the flame chakra, granting it formidable defensive power.

Bang! His flame-wrapped right fist collided with a descending figure.

It was Pakura! She had launched an attack from above at some unknown point, and the one speaking to him must have been a Shadow Clone, which is why there were no flaws.

If Uchiha Takashi hadn't defended in time, he might have been in serious trouble.

Just as their attacks collided.

A fireball the size of a washbasin circled from behind Pakura, striking Uchiha Takashi's waist.

Boom! The intense flames exploded.

However, this time, the attack was far less effective than the previous sudden assault.

Although the defense of Demon Burn couldn't match Rotation, it was still strong. Combined with Uchiha Takashi's unique advantage, he handled it with ease.

Fire resistance! This was crucial when facing Pakura's "Scorch Release: Over-steam Kill."

Because explosions and flames aren't the true killing methods of Scorch Release.

Evaporating the moisture within the human body is!

If Uchiha Takashi didn't have sufficient fire resistance, along with the Flame Cloak, he would have turned into a dried corpse under the intense heat.

This advantage allowed him to struggle a bit against Pakura.

Otherwise, facing a quasi-Kage or even a Kage-level opponent, he wouldn't have survived.

Kage-level opponents are terrifying! This was even with Uchiha Takashi being able to resist the opponent's Kekkei Genkai to a large extent; otherwise, it would have been much worse.

Fortunately, he had a backup plan.

Caw! A cry echoed from the sky, and a massive shadow swooped down.

But before the shadow arrived, a barrage of fireballs rained down.

Boom, boom, boom!

Fireballs the size of cartwheels fell like raindrops, covering the entire battlefield.

The ground was shattered by these fireballs.

In the battlefield filled with flames and smoke.

Whoosh! A flame-wrapped figure leaped high into the air.

Then, while in mid-air, the figure's hands and feet burst with flames, increasing the jump height, perfectly intersecting with the swooping giant crow.

Slap! Uchiha Takashi reached out and touched Taiichi's claw.

The claw was thicker than a human's waist, so he couldn't grasp it, only "stick" to it.

Pakura's combat power was indeed formidable.

Chapter 68: Facing a Kage-level Opponent!

But she couldn't fly! So when the flames dissipated, all she could do was watch as Uchiha Takashi disappeared into the sky.

On the ground! "My Lady, are you alright?"

A Sand Ninja looked at Pakura, who was staring up at the sky, and called out to her with concern.

"I'm fine," Pakura shook her head, then turned her sharp gaze towards the direction of the Konoha camp. "Relay the order, accelerate the entire army. Today, we must break through the Fire Nation's border camp!"

This time, the vanguard of the Sand Ninja army was led by her.

Her mission was to take down the border camp and clear all the strongholds along the Fire Nation's border.

The Sand Village was too poor! Their mission share was always being snatched by Konoha, and with the disappearance of the Third Kazekage, they decided to go all in.

After all, things couldn't get worse than they already were.

Faced with the choice of a slow death or taking a gamble while they still had strength, anyone would make the right choice.

So, even though they knew Konoha had nothing to do with the Kazekage's disappearance, the Sand Ninjas still chose to use it as an excuse to launch an attack.

When it came to choosing between the village's survival or Konoha's demise, Pakura chose the latter, so she took the initiative to act as the vanguard.

"Yes!"

A Sand Ninja from the Anbu quickly left to relay the order to the Sand Ninja army in the rear.

On the other side, Uchiha Takashi escorted the team of chubby ninjas back to the camp.

It turned out they were being pursued because they obtained information from a Konoha Anbu member who handed it over before dying, which led to several Sand Ninja squads chasing them.

Soon, they arrived at the center of the camp.

Tatsuma Yoken first checked the seal on the intelligence scroll, and only after confirming there were no issues did he use a special technique to break the seal.

If one didn't know this technique, even if they got the scroll, they wouldn't be able to read it.

Of course, Uchiha Takashi and his team turned to leave.

They were just a bunch of small fry, and their mission process had already been reported, so the following matters were not for them to be involved in.

After stepping out.

"You know..."

Honda was about to say something when Uchiha Takashi stopped him.

Is this something they can discuss?

If they were Jonin or part of the Hokage's circle, they could talk freely without any problem, but for them, speaking carelessly could easily lead to trouble.

"Get ready for battle!"

Uchiha Takashi quietly reminded his close friends.

The border camp's defenses were indeed not weak.

The problem was, this time they were facing an enemy that wasn't just a small-scale raid, and with Pakura, a Kage-level powerhouse leading them, were they supposed to just bash their heads against them?

Tatsuma Yoken was an elite Jonin, which was usually enough.

But in the face of a national war, he couldn't hold up.

So, the camp would definitely be breached by the Sand Ninja, and they needed to prepare early.

Of course, this didn't mean they should become deserters.

If the camp hadn't been breached, or if there was no retreat order, fleeing would be considered 'betraying the village.'

So all they could do was prepare; they couldn't do anything else.

After reading the intelligence, Tatsuma Yoken immediately gathered the camp's higher-ups.

This alone showed his lack of capability.

Because at such a critical moment, he should have acted decisively, choosing either to fight or to flee.

Not gather people for a discussion.

It's important to note that Uchiha Takashi and his team had reported very clearly that the Sand Ninja army was advancing.

Every second wasted was a crime!

But these were matters that Uchiha Takashi, a 'small' Chunin, had no right to comment on.

Fortunately, ninja meetings were extremely fast, and a decision was soon reached.

Hold the line!

However, they would first evacuate the wounded, support personnel, merchants... and the like.

And this escort mission was far more dangerous than holding the line.

Because escorting these people meant they couldn't move quickly, and they would definitely be caught by the Sand Ninja.

Holding the camp had the advantage of terrain, and they could hold out for a few days until reinforcements arrived. But with an escort mission, not only did they lack the advantage of terrain, but they also had to protect the convoy, making it incredibly difficult.

Soon, Uchiha Takashi was assigned a task.

Very fortunately, he 'won the lottery.'

(End of Chapter)